Royal Mail has won a High Court injunction preventing next week's 48-hour strike by postal workers.

Around 110,000 members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) were set to walk out from 19 October in what would have been the first national postal strike since Royal Mail was privatised in 2013.

Staff had voted overwhelmingly earlier this month in favour of industrial action in a long-running dispute over pensions, pay and jobs.

Union leaders say they have been trying to find a solution to the impasse for 18 months.

But a High Court judge supported Royal Mail's case that the CWU was breaking its contract by calling a strike before outside mediation, which began on 5 October, is completed.

The injunction is necessary to prevent hundreds of thousands of people across the UK being deliberately inconvenienced as well as the company suffering commercially, Royal Mail has said.

In granting the order, Mr Justice Supperstone said: "I consider the strike call to be unlawful and the defendant is obliged to withdraw its strike call until the external mediation process has been exhausted."

Royal Mail won the injunction but we stand here with 90% yes vote and more strike action ready to come. Your move #RiseUp 🦁